Man must see out his prison term for Dh6.5 million bank fraud, Dubai court rules

DUBAI // A Pakistani man sentenced to five years behind bars for posing as an Afghan man and transferring Dh6.5 million from his bank account, must see out his prison term.

The 22-year-old pretended to be the victim when he requested a replacement sim card from telcoms provider du. After getting a sim with the victim’s number, he also obtained his bank account information and contacted the bank to reset the Afghan’s online password before transferring the money from his account.

“I was in my home country but had checked my bank account through mobile banking before I left. When I tried to do so later, it didn’t work,” the 34-year-old Afghan said.

He called his bank in Dubai and was surprised to find several transfers had been made from his account. He complained and his account was frozen.

The incident happened in September 2014.

“He had obtained my personal information somehow and answered all the identification and security questions by the bank when he called them,” said the Afghan, who lodged a complaint at Al Muraqqabat police station.

The Pakistani was convicted of forgery, use of forged documents and fraudulently obtaining money. He was jailed by Dubai Criminal Court and fined Dh5 million. The appeals court upheld the prison sentence and fine.

He will be deported after the completion of his prison term.